Summer Twilight (Updated Version)
by Rainbowshinelove
Summary: Summer Springs is a Performer and Singer from Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle is the Princess of Friendship, how will these two fall in love? Only time and a lot of twists and turns can really tell.


**Since this story was a bit flawed and I know I could write it better now that I've improved, I'm going to do exactly that and rewrite the entire story of Summer Twilight. I know that it may seem dumb and that I should more than likely be working on Thunderstorm Tales or Starlight Summer, but I just feel like it's time for me to update this story and give you all a better idea on how things came to be. Since I wrote the first version of this fan fiction closer to Season 4 I'll also be changing the story line just a bit, to add in elements from Seasons 5, 6 and 7 but not everything as of yet, though that could change as I edit and work on the earlier chapters of Starlight Summer as well, since there are a few things from those seasons that would allow this story to still work, just not all of them. I am not ignoring any of the points from any season, I'm just keeping what works or the story at the point that it is at.**

**Think of the flawed version as a sort of rough draft and know that as long as you're patient with me I'll be able to give you all something great, or at the very east I'll try my hardest so. At least that should count for something right? With all of this being said, please enjoy the beginning chapter!**

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Within the city of Canterlot there lived a young Pegasus mare named Summer Springs, having grown up in the large capitol of Equestria she was used to the snooty and the uptight, though she never acted this way herself she believed. Summer was a rather simple mare, with a long wavy pink and mint green mane, a coat the color of cyan raindrops, and eyes of light blue. Her wings had a slight ocean blue tint to them as well, which is one reason she had the name "springs", according to her mother.

Though she herself was a Pegasus most of her family were actually Unicorns. Her Grandmother, Daisy Dazzle, was a cyan colored Unicorn with bright green eyes and a dark blue mane with a gift for brewing teas out of daisies and other different flowers, who had married Wind Breaker; a Pegasus guard with a grey coat and light green feathers on his wings, blue eyes, and a dark green mane. His cutie mark a gust of wind being broken through with a shard of glass, as he could break up the wind his wings made when he flew to knock others out of the sky. This was a skill not many could actually accomplish, and though he could have easily become captain of the guard because of his talent he preferred his humble rank of Lieutenant. He had grown up in Cloudsdale, but at a young age decided to train to become a member of the Royal Guard and moved to Canterlot to do exactly that. Daisy had grown up in Canterlot, and began selling her teas at a very young age eventually leading to her owning her own tea shop, as well as brew drinks for special events and parties.

After they were married they went on to have Summer's Father, a Unicorn with a slightly darker blue coat than his mother, and a light green mane with dark blue eyes named Dusk Light. He grew up to become a rather successful jeweler, though he preferred decorating the night or a dark room at a party with stars made from the reflecting light, his Cutie Mark a star with a diamond inside to symbolize these talents. His shop was well known, and he had even supplied jewelry to Princess Celestia, though only for a short time and never exactly face to face. He expanded to not only jewelry but some fancy home decor such as vases, lamps, and decorative chandeliers after this since his short time serving the Princess had inspired him to try different things.

He met Summer's mother while he was working one day and she stopped in for a gold diamond encrusted vase for her flower shop, and it was love at first sight. Her mother was a Unicorn with a light pink coat, a dark and light blue mane and purple eyes, named Blue Rose with a light and dark blue rose Cutie Mark on her flank. Dusk shyly asked Blue out to dinner that night and she quickly agreed with a kind smile. After that first date they began dating almost instantly and after about two years they eloped in Las Pegasus. They had been married a little over a year when Blue Rose became pregnant with Summer, she and Dusk were over the moon, and Daisy and Wind Breaker couldn't wait to be grand parents. During the pregnancy, Blue Rose ate quite a few things most commonly eaten in Cloudsdale, but no one thought anything of it really, writing it off as simple pregnancy cravings and never paid them much mind. Even Wind Breaker assumed since his wife was a Unicorn, Their son was a Unicorn, and even their sons wife was a Unicorn, the chances were that they would probably have a unicorn foal.

However, everypony was surprised to find out she had been born a Pegasus, even Wind Breaker who was a Pegasus himself. Still her parents decided that it didn't really matter and loved their little filly all the same, and her Grandfather even began calling her his little Dragonfly. Growing up she had a bit of trouble fitting in and mostly kept to herself, writing and humming songs to herself. She never really minded that she couldn't use magic like the rest of her family and most of the other foals in Canterlot, since her Grandfather would take her out flying anytime she saw him. She had a strong connection to her Grandfather, and adored any time she had with him no matter what they did. They would fly and play games in the sky, and just have fun that the ponies on the ground couldn't. She wasn't an outspoken foal, and didn't really have too many friends growing up, but she didn't seem to mind. She would have much rather spent time with her Grandfather anyway, flying and having fun in the sky. There were even days he picked her up from school, still wearing his Royal Guard armor, causing some of the other foals to look in awe.

There were talent shows every year at her school and she would always watch as other foals would show off what they could do or what they enjoyed, but Summer never felt she could sing in front of other ponies. She felt too nervous and afraid to do something like that, and so whenever the Talent shows came around she just helped out backstage. Eventually she got up the courage to sing one of the songs she had written, inspired by the family she so loved. She almost choked on her words in a panic but she looked into the audience, and she could see her family, her Mother, her Father, her Grandmother, and her Grandfather, all of them there to support her. She felt so much joy in that moment, seeing them all there for her, and she managed to calm herself down and sing from her heart, putting everything she could into it when she finally began to notice the crowd seeming to enjoy her performance, earning a loud applause from the audience and many cheers of praise and joy from her family. She had never felt so amazing in all her life and as her family cheered for her she felt that she had finally found what she was meant to do, and in that moment she looked down at her flank where her Cutie Mark had just appeared. It was of a sun with a music note underneath, representing her summery sweet singing voice as well as her talent for writing music.

Her family cheered even more for her when this happened and Summer could hardly contain her joy, feeling as if she had finally found her calling as she flew up above the stage with a bright grin. After that she began practicing more, writing more songs and preforming in different musicals, she did this for a rather long time until she was finally recognized by Sapphire Shores at one of her plays and she helped her find a few ponies that could help her get farther in the business. With her help Summer was able to begin building her way up in the music industry by singing backup for Sapphire Shores for a few of her concerts, even landing a leading part in two Bridleway Musicals when she stayed in Manehattan for a year, during which time she and three other ponies formed a group together to perform at even bigger events.

The group consisted of Summer, two other mares and a Stallion. One mare was a light pink earth pony with a straight light blue mane and green eyes named Floral Grace, her part in the group was to come up with the choreography and undertones to the music, her cutie Mark of a music note and a flower. She wasn't the quietest member of the group by far, and would often try to act as if she were in charge of the only right choice. She wasn't rude or too harsh, but no pony really wanted to get on her bad side. She seemed to have a soft spot for Summer as a close friend, but she rarely ever got involved too deeply in her business outside of the group. She tended to do things her own way and didn't like being told what to do, so it could be challenging when the rest of the group had a plan and she didn't want to go through with it. It never helped that she was also always eating whenever anypony talked to her. In fact the only time Summer had ever seen her not eating while speaking to somepony was while she was teaching choreography or when she was performing.

The second mare of the group, and the one in charge of the instrumental parts of the performance, was a cream colored unicorn with a short coca colored mane and blue eyes with three earrings on one ear named Arianna Songbird. She was mostly in charge of the sound equipment and actually creating the music in the songs, while Summer wrote the lyrics, her Cutie Mark was of a record with a star in the center. She mostly liked to be called Ari since it was easier to remember for most ponies, but there were still a few who called her Arianna and she didn't really mind all that much. There were times when the others would be fighting and she would try and calm the situation down by keeping a cool head, so she was often the voice of reason for the group, though Floral Grace never really took her too seriously given her stubborn nature. Ari never took it to heart, knowing that Grace was mostly just used to doing things her own way and that she never did it out of malice.

The only stallion of the group, the backup vocals as well as the set and costume designer, was a grey-blue colored unicorn with a long purple mane pulled back into a ponytail with dark purple eyes named Sound Stage. His Cutie Mark was of a microphone made out of a button, since his passion was performing but his talent was to sew and create, which is something he incorporated into set design. He was great at what he did and whenever the group had to try flashy costumes he would always make sure to tone it down for Summer, knowing how uncomfortable it made her after noting how uncomfortable she appeared in a jumpsuit during one of their practices. He could be easily frustrated and didn't really care for it whenever Grace would use his stereo systems to instruct the rest of them on their dancing, but he couldn't ever really seem to do much about it so he started letting it go. Still, he wasn't exactly patient and could have a hot temper at times, though in the long run he was a kind pony with a love of performing and designing costumes.

They all had started working together after Summer met them while preforming on Bridleway. They had all ended up working on the same version of "Pony of the Opera" and during the production they had found they all bonded a bit over their love of performing and music. After the final performance, the four of them decided to stick together, since they all originated from Canterlot and found they worked well together. When they began working together they initially just worked on more plays and tried to find work wherever a performance was requested before Summer managed to get them a spot opening for Sapphire Shores at various concerts and charities. They'd worked all over once that lifted them off the ground, performing for their own fans in different parts of Equestria. They would perform for festivals, races, fairs, anything that needed music or entertainment. This would lead her and her friends all over Equestria, traveling mostly by train and stopping in different towns along the way to gather supplies to repair their equipment and update their costume wardrobe, with the help of Sound Stage of course.

Though she was often traveling all over with her music group, she always returned to Canterlot to be with her family, which over time grew to include a little sister. Her younger sister was a white unicorn filly with a smooth purple mane and purple eyes matching her mother, whom they had named Belle Rose. When Belle was born Summer decided to stay closer to home, helping her parents whenever she could while preforming all over Canterlot at various events and parties. Belle proved to be a hoof-full whenever Summer was foal-sitting, using her magic surges as a sort of bonding time with Summer, often teleporting to different rooms in a wild game of hide and seek that Summer could never seem to win. There were also times she would manage to levitate herself out a nearby window and Summer would have to chase her down the street in a panic. Eventually her sister's magic surges calmed down as she grew up and Summer was able to go back on the road again, and get back to doing more of what she loved with her friends.

Even though Summer was getting farther and farther in life, and starting to become more and more recognizable, she still wasn't like most of the other mares in Canterlot in quite a few ways. For one thing she couldn't use magic like most of the other mares in the city, though this wasn't very fair since they were Unicorns and she was not. She sometimes believed it was weird that nearly her entire family was made up of Unicorns and yet she was born a Pegasus, but then she would remember her Grandfather and everything would fit back into place. She also had a habit of still getting a bit nervous before she preformed, though she imagined this was probably more common than she thought. She would normally calm herself down by counting down from ten, or sometimes just sitting still and breathing quietly helped. Her career often meant she would travel a lot but she always returned to Canterlot, and even bought a house nearby her parents and Grandparents to be sure she could spend time with her family when she was home. She enjoyed traveling but in the end she was always going to return to the place where her family was.

While Summer was a reasonable pony when it came to wearing nice clothing while performing, she was also never one to get into the fashion or the glamour that came with growing up in Canterlot and performing on stage, and so she often chose not to buy much of her clothing there or in a few other large cities, such as Las Pegasus, Manehattan and Whinnyappolis just because she didn't really care for expensive or flashy looks they tended to push, the styles of the big city never suited her, even when she tried them out. So whenever she could she would go shopping in the smaller cities as she traveled and bought clothes there. Though there were times where she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter, such as when her mother or father would go out shopping and buy her something on a whim. She never minded this really, and was always glad her parents would think about her, but it was her Father's reaction when she wouldn't wear them that often got under her skin.

Everytime she would wear something casual when going out with her family, or when she would return from a performance wearing a classy but simple outfit her Father would always say she should dress up, or that she should make herself look nicer. When she would tell him she simply preferred a simpler style, he would roll his eyes and start to become irritated.

"You won't catch the eye of a nice Stallion dressing down all the time, sweetheart." He would say.

Summer never really took this to heart, knowing her father was a bit old fashioned, despite still being relatively young for having an adult daughter. So whenever he would go off on those rants she would simply roll her eyes back and explain she'd find somepony when she found somepony. Truth be told, she was never really sure that she wanted to get married. The thought of being with a stallion the rest of her life didn't really appeal to her. Growing up she had never really had any crushes on any colts, and any that had a crush on her she would shy away from or refuse flat out. There had been a time in her life where she had felt she had a crush on a little filly in her class, however, and Summer couldn't remember a time where she felt she actually liked the idea of being with any pony before then and for the longest time she couldn't understand why. And as she got older she would find herself staring at mares more and more, and began looking for answers to her feelings. She found the answer when she began feeling an attraction to one of the mares that catered her shows, and she dug up the courage to talk to her one day and she managed to ask her to go out with her that night for coffee and doughnuts.

Of course the mare declined politely, and explained she just wasn't gay or bisexual. This stung Summer a bit but at least that rejection had shown her that rather than dating Stallions she wanted to be with Mares, and that was enough for her to feel alright about how it turned out. After that she decided if she ever did date anypony, she wanted to date a mare. She confided in her Mother and Grandmother about this the most, knowing they would love her no matter what. Since she had an even closer bond with her Grandfather, Wind Breaker, telling him was one of the hardest things she did in her life. Yet he surprised her, simply pulling her into a hug and telling her as long as she ended up with somepony that made her happy he would always be supportive of her. However, she avoided telling her Father after a certain incident that occurred not long after she had told her Grandfather.

Summer and her family went out together before she would have to go on another trip to Las Pegasus, and they had stopped to eat at a nice restaurant and seemed to be enjoying their meal, when a pair of Stallions walked in and sat down at a table a good distance away, but not out of sight. Summer assumed they were business partners or perhaps friends and went on with her meal, until she noticed about halfway through they were holding hooves and she smiled a bit to herself before she went back to eating. When her father noticed this however he scrunched his nose a bit in what appeared to be disgust. Blue Rose asked him what was wrong, in a calm voice, when he let out a slight scoff, causing Summer to glance up from her food.

"Look at them." He grumbled, pointing to the couple subtly, "How repulsive."

"Dear, that isn't very nice." Her mother told him softly, trying to keep herself calm.

Summer basically blocked it out for a bit, ignoring that her father was being a closed minded foal and returned to her food until he said something that made her freeze up a bit.

"A couple is a Stallion and a Mare, nothing else. It's disgusting that they would flaunt their lifestyle in other pony's faces like this." He ranted, shaking his head in disgust.

"I don't see a problem with it." Blue Rose told him gently, though her voice seemed stern.

"Well I do." Dusk muttered angrily, "A big problem."

Wind Breaker almost blew up at his son for being so rude, but Daisy was able to calm him down with a gentle hoof on his shoulder. Summer simply stayed quiet but Wind Breaker, Daisy and Blue Rose could all see that Summer had been bothered by what her father had said. She never said a word about it though, and simply kept eating her food trying to ignore what he had said. They finished their meal and everyone seemed to have a good time after that, but as they were walking back towards their neighborhood Wind Breaker Strayed behind a bit to have a chat with his Granddaughter.

"You alright, Dragonfly?" He asked her gently, trying to ease her worries with the familiar nickname.

"I'm ok Granddad." She told him gently, offering him a smile.

He could tell, though, that she was still bothered by what his son had said. He knew that there was no way he could change his son's mind but he wished he could for the sake of his granddaughter.

"Don't worry about it." He said finally, "I'm sure he's just being a closed minded feather brain."

"Just because he's a feather brain doesn't mean he's not my Dad." Summer reminded him.

"I'm just saying, Dragonfly...he'll come around sooner or later." Her grandfather assured her.

Summer smiled as she hugged her grandfather, earning a grin from the old stallion before he began coughing a bit.

She looked at him a bit worried, "Are you alright?"

"Fine. Fine." He assured her between coughs, "Just a tickle in my throat, nothing to worry about."

Still Summer wasn't so sure and so after her parents went on their way home with Belle, Summer decided she would walk her grandparents to their house just to make sure that her Grandfather was really alright and hugged them each once they reached their door.

"Don't worry about me." She told them with a smile, "I'm fine really."

"If you're sure, sweetie. Stay safe tonight." Her Grandmother told her with a reassuring smile.

"And remember, don't let your feather head Father worry you ok?" Her Grandfather added.

"I won't." Summer told him, giving them each one last hug before she headed home.

Sure Summer still planned to tell her Father but she just wasn't sure how to. She didn't think her Father would outright hate her of course, but still, this whole thing had made Summer feel too terrified to want to tell her Father the truth until she was sure he would accept her. This was easier said than done, but she was certain that she would eventually gain the courage to tell him, even if it took years for her to do so. Still she tried not to allow her Father's words to bring her down, and she continued on home to rest and forget about her troubles for the night. After that she just tried to ignore him whenever he would say things against gay ponies, never answering him and certainly never agreeing with him. Her mother would tell him not to say such things but he would often shrug it off and tell her it was just how it was, but he would lighten up on it after she would talk to him, at least for a little while. There were a few times when he would get out of hoof and say something that made Summer feel physically sick to her stomach and become overly worried about ever telling her father, and she would find herself locked up in her home for a day or so until the feeling passed.

But life soon took a harsh turn for the worst when Wind Breaker suddenly fell ill with pneumonia. Summer dropped everything she was doing to spend time taking care of him with her grandmother, wanting nothing more than for her Grandfather to pull through. She would look after him while her grandmother tended to her Tea Shop during the day and even stayed over at night in case he needed anything so her Grandmother would be able to sleep. The days went on and Summer could see more and more how much weaker her once strong and athletic Grandfather was becoming. The doctors would give him all the medication they could to try and cure him but it never seemed to do any good, and Wind Breaker's health only seemed to be growing worse as the weeks rolled by. One day, as Summer was helping him to eat so he could take his afternoon medicine he placed his hoof on her shoulder and gave a weak smile.

"Dragonfly, I want you to remember something." He told her in a weak and gentle tone.

"What is it Granddad...?" She asked quietly, setting down his spoon in confusion and slight worry.

"No matter where I end up...never forget that I'm always going to be proud of you." He told her weakly, "My time may be coming soon, but you got a whole life to live, Dragonfly...make it one you'll treasure as much as I've treasured mine. Met the Mare of my dreams, had a family, even got to teach my Granddaughter how to fly. Yep, that's a good life I'd say. A full life."

"Granddad don't say things like that." She told him quickly, "You'll get through this and be back in the sky in no time I know it."

"I suppose. Just promise me you won't forget anyway." He told her with a soft chuckle before he began to cough.

Summer hugged the old stallion gently with a slightly sad nod, "I promise Granddad."

He wrapped his hooves around her weakly, and gave her the strongest hug he could muster, "I love ya, Dragonfly."

Just out of his sight Summer allowed her tears to fall, "I love you too."

"Hey," He told her gently, "Mind if I ask you to let me read your notebook?"

"Of course I don't mind." Summer told him, quickly wiping away her tears before he could see, "But what in Equestria for?"

"Well truth be told, Dragonfly, I'd like something to read while I'm resting in here and sometimes the same old books just don't appeal to me." He told her with a weak shrug, "When you get to be my age you've probably already read just about everything there is. And I've always wanted to read some of the unknown songs you've written."

Summer chuckled a bit at his exaggeration and smiled, "Ok, I'll bring it over tomorrow, when I go out to run errands for Grandma."

"Thanks, Dragonfly." He said gently, "I think I can probably eat just a little more to take my medications."

She helped him to eat and take his medicine, before helping him lay down so he could sleep to let the medicine work. Summer left the room with a sigh and went about cleaning the house quietly, making sure she wouldn't wake her Grandfather. He needed all the rest he could get and Summer knew this. Things looked grim but Summer knew she had to remain positive. She needed to be positive for not only herself, but for her sister, her Mother, her Father, and her Grandmother, they all felt worried and feared the worst, so somepony had to be the one to hope for the best. She cleaned furiously, working to finish quickly so she could check in on her Grandfather while he rested. She planned to do absolutely everything she could in order to ensure her Grandfather got well.

However tragedy fell upon the entire family, when Wind Breaker passed away in his sleep only three weeks later. Daisy and Dusk were both devastated, and Belle Rose felt sad because she wouldn't get to know her Grandfather any better, but the loss hit Summer like a train and she fell into a state of grief and despair, locking herself away in her house once her Grandfather had been put to rest. No one in her family blamed her for her behavior, knowing just how close Summer had been to Wind Breaker, and knowing that Summer would need time to grieve possibly worse than anypony. Summer felt she couldn't even bring herself to write songs anymore, whenever she tried she just couldn't find any words that meant anything, and those that she did manage to come up with were far too dark for her liking. Eventually she set aside her notebook and focused on trying to find some way to cope with the loss and despair she felt. Her friends tried to convince her to rethink shelving her notebook but there was simply no getting through to her in this time.

For the longest time Summer found work at the Canterlot Library, mostly just checking ponies out and cleaning the high windows and ceilings whenever they needed them. She rarely talked much, and whenever one of her friends would reach out to her to try and help she would just tell them that she was working through her problems and needed more time to cope. No pony knew what to do to help her, and if she wasn't willing to talk to anypony about it there was nothing they could do. Belle Rose would often take time after school to help her older sister by cleaning up around her house while she was still at work, though she would never go into her older sister's bedroom, knowing that it was her sister's place of privacy. Anytime she was there when he sister returned she would do all she could to cheer her up but it never really worked for very long, and she would simply give up after a while.

Even Sound Stage tried his hardest to cheer her up, despite how she wouldn't reach out to him, Ari or Grace. He would stop by the library and try to talk to her, to try and get her to see reason but she always told him she was to busy. She would tell him they would talk later, but later would never come, and he would once more have to seek her out and the cycle would only continue. She couldn't seem to help it, however. She knew she couldn't and that made her feel worse. Losing her Grandfather was too much for her to handle, he was her biggest supporter and in her eyes he was the only one who saw her for more than what she was physically, and sometimes she even felt he saw her for more than she was mentally as well. She had a connection with him she wasn't sure she could feel with anypony else and that made her feel as if there were an emptiness in part of her heart, an emptiness in a part of her self even.

Despite the emotional troubles she faced after months of her wallowing in her own grief and sorrow Summer knew that she had to continue on with her life, preparing to move to a smaller house to compensate for her lower income. She was in the process of packing up one of the boxes in her bedroom when she knocked her notebook off of her dresser. It fell open to a random page and Summer let out a small sigh as she set down what she was packing in the box and moved to pick it up. Suddenly she stopped, her eyes falling upon the words written across the pages. It was not a song, and not a poem, but something she had missed all those months ago. Written on this page, in her Grandfather's mouth-writing, was a note addressed to her, dated only days before her Grandfather had passed away.

_**Dragonfly,**_

_** Though my time comes to a close a new chapter in your life will begin. You've come so far from the time you were small and afraid to express yourself with your beautiful voice, and I would never want you to give that up just because I've gone. Please never give up. You are so much stronger than you realize, and though I will no longer be there to cheer you on I will always be around to guide you. **_

_**You can reach the stars, Dragonfly, and there's no doubt in my mind or in my heart that no matter what you go through, no matter what in life knocks you down, you'll come out stronger for it. Never forget I'm so proud of you, and I love you so much. I know you'll do great things one day, and find a love that I had for your grandmother, and that's one of the only things I want for you, happiness and love.**_

_**So don't give up on yourself, because I'll never give up on you, Dragonfly. Love Always, Granddad.**_

Summer couldn't stop her tears from falling anew, and yet she didn't feel sad, she felt empowered. In his final days her Grandfather had made sure she wouldn't give up on who she was and what made her happy. Knowing this, she dug deep within herself and genuinely smiled as she reread the page over and over again the rest of the night until she found herself falling asleep, the most restful sleep she had gotten in months.

Soon she began writing songs again, her mind finally clearing of the webs and darkness that she had clung to for so long. It didn't take her long before she was calling up her group again and suggesting they get back to work, she quit working for the Library and began Performing again. She wrote new songs, and she and her friends went travelling once again to farther points than they had before, and even began recording and selling their own small albums. After that it took very little time for them to start to grow a bigger fan base, to a point where it was a challenge to find places for them to practice that their fans wouldn't flock to. Eventually they decided to start meeting at Summer's home since it was closer to Canterlot Castle than most of the music studios in the city and so it was harder for Ponies to mob. Summer didn't really mind, since it would actually be easier to plan out their concerts and their travel plans from her home. It would also give her a chance to hang out with her friends more, and they could become close again after all her time alone.

When she wasn't traveling to preform around Equestria with her music group or spending time with her family in her spare time she would sit at her kitchen table or curl up in bed and read for a while, picking up the hobby after working at the Library for all those months. She would read all sorts of book, mysteries, drama, horror, even history books some of the time, She even began collecting cookbooks and started cooking a bit more, though it took her a couple of tries to get it right. But her favorite books to read were the adventure series by A.K Yearling, Daring Do. She could escape into a world of adventure and treasures and she felt that was a fun way to clear her head whenever she could. She would often work on her songs at home, finding it to be the most relaxing place to work, as opposed to a crowded cafe or writing while she was travelling by train.

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**There are quite a few notable changes that I've introduced in this updated version of "Summer Twilight" and that was of course the intention of updating the story in the first place. I know that it may seem a bit too detail focused but this is only the beginning chapter and thus will be written to describe the characters, the current situation, as well as the background of my OC that I've improved on to give her less of a bland vibe. With all of this said, enjoy the rest of the chapter.**

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She was working on lyrics for a concert she and her friends would be doing in a few months when she got a knock at her door, signalling her mail had been delivered though it seemed a bit harsher than normal. She decided to grab it while she had the chance and went out and checked her mailbox with a smile, pulling out the various papers and scrolls with her wing before heading back inside, setting the mail on her bedside table to read over before bed, to avoid staying up too late reading any Daring Do books as she tended to do at times. She was about to head back to her room when another knock at her door caught her attention.

"Odd." She told herself out loud as she went to answer it curiously.

As she looked out she couldn't see anypony on the street and no pony on her front steps, much to her confusion. She blinked when she heard the slight jingling of a bell and looked up in surprise, there floating above her door, upside down, was her sister Belle Rose. Her purple magic aura surrounding her nicely, signalling that she had been practicing her magic more. She dawned a jingling bell for an earring, feeling like it suited her and she wasn't entirely wrong, she just never factored in that it could give her away when pulling these sorts of pranks.

"Ok Belle, you got me." Summer chuckled with a grin.

"That's 12 Belle, 12 Summer." Belle grinned, chuckling a bit as she did so, "Now we're finally tied!"

"You don't have to keep count, you know." Summer told her, rolling her eyes a bit, "Now get down from there. You know Mom and Dad don't want you using your magic to levitate yourself."

The young unicorn pouted as she lowered herself, "Aw come on sis! You know I never fall."

"And what about that time you fell off that swing set trying to put Fluffy on that colts head?" Summer challenged with an amused grin.

"Hey!" Belle cried, "No fair I wasn't even using my magic on myself that time and you know it! Besides, Fluffy's just a harmless tarantula! And she's very well trained!"

"I've seen Fluffy eat a mouse before." Summer reminded her sister.

"Oh come on! Only because we ran out of crickets." Belle countered.

"Ok ok. But she still needs to stay in her cage if you bring her over here." Summer told her, ruffling her mane a bit.

"Fair enough." Belle agreed with a giggle.

Summer smirked playfully, "Who would have thought my little sister would turn out to be The Spider Queen."

Belle tried to playfully tackle her older sister, who simply hovered hovered upwards and out of the way, causing Belle Rose to fly past her and crash into a table in the front hall. Summer of course flew over to make sure she was alright, chuckling a bit as she took note of the notepad stuck to her sisters horn.

"Summer 13, Belle 12." Summer told her with a grin, causing the young filly to pout.

The young Pegasus mare helped her sister up and moved to start dinner, knowing her sister would probably want something after she finished doing her homework.

"So, what happened today, sis?" Summer asked as she started to get out the ingredients for eggplant lasagna.

"Not much." The filly answered as she set her saddle bag down and started getting out her homework.

Summer took note of how her sister's bag jingled when she set it down and she raised an eyebrow, somewhat wishing she were a unicorn for a moment as she flew over to the table.

"Uh-huh." She answered glancing at her sister's homework, taking note of how easy it looked, before looking back at the saddle bag, "What all did you study in school today?"

"Pre-Equestrian literature." Belle answered with a shrug.

"You studied that last week." Summer pointed out, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

Belle winced and chuckled nervously, "Oh uh...we were studying a different part this week."

Summer gave her sister a knowing look and grabbed her saddle bag quickly and flying out of reach, causing her younger sister to yelp in shock and slight panic.

"Hey!" She cried, trying to jump at her older sister in anger, "Give me that back!"

"What are you hiding, Belle?" Summer questioned opening the bag with a slightly upset tone.

When she opened the bag she found not only books, though far fewer than she needed for school, but a set of bells and about twenty or thirty bits. Summer looked shocked for a moment before she looked at her sister for an explanation, but she was still glaring at her older sister in a mixture of anger and panic.

"Belle have you been skipping school to play the bells at the train station for bits again?" Summer asked her sternly as she landed, holding the bag up with her wing still.

"Give them back!" Belle cried, trying to grab the bag with her magic in a panic as Summer continued to keep a good hold on it.

"Belle, Mom and Dad told you not to go skipping school anymore." Summer groaned.

"So? I went for the morning class!" Belle pointed out, trying to tackle her sister for the bag now.

"But you need to go to school the whole day!" Summer countered, now flying so her sister couldn't reach anymore, "I never gave up on school for my music!"

"But you write lyrics and sing! I just like playing for people who have places to go and need a bit less stress. I don't need to finish school to do that!" Belle told her with an angry pout.

"But sis," Summer answered softly, "You can't make good enough money to pay for what you'll need when you grow up by just playing at a train station everyday. Believe me I tried that in Manehattian. Did you know that every other pony gives you a button and not a bit? It happens!"

"But," Belle started slightly sadly, "I don't care about the money. Sure it's cool to get paid sometimes but I just like making ponies' days."

Summer sighed and hugged her sister softly, thinking for a minute before smiling brightly, "How about we make a deal?"

"Deal?" Belle questioned slightly.

"If you stay in school and do well on all your work, I'll see about helping you with your music by bringing you along to the next event we play at." Summer offered with a smile.

Belle looked at her sister in awe and beamed slightly, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Really?!"

"Really." Summer promised, hugging her nearly bouncing sister with a laugh.

Sure she knew that their next performance was months away but they weren't booked for any really important events for anytime soon so she was sure her sister would need to stick to this deal for at least a while. She moved and set Belle's saddle bag down and returned to the kitchen to continue making dinner for the two of them. She ended up making Eggplant lasagna as well as garlic bread and fried mushrooms, feeling her sister should eat a few of the somewhat bitter vegetables after skipping school and trying to lie about it, but mostly because Summer actually liked fried mushrooms and Belle didn't.

"Oh come on, big sis!" Belle whined, noticing the mushrooms on her plate.

"Hey, I'm not the one who skipped school." Summer answered wish an amused grin as she set the plate down and sat down to eat as well.

The young unicorn glared at her slightly but eventually gave in and began eating hungrily. After dinner Summer walked her sister over to a nearby pet shop to buy some crickets, knowing her sister would have to feed Fluffy that night. She of course made her sister use her own bits as a small payback for her skipping school, knowing she needed to learn somehow and that seemed less cruel than making her track down every pony who gave her money on their way home, and a lot less tiring for Summer after having to cook for herself and her sister. After they were done there they set off on their way back towards Summer's Parent's home.

"You promise you'll keep going to school?" Summer asked, hugging her sister .

"Yeeeeeees..." Belle groaned as she pretended to hate the hug, though very poorly.

Summer laughed and grinned, "Hey, next event you're coming along."

"Yeah, that's true." Belle admitted excitedly, looking much more chipper after that.

Summer smiled as she opened the door to their parents house and walked her sister inside, "Mom, Dad, I brought her home!"

"Oh thank you Summer!" Their mother exclaimed as she was using her magic to snip some thorns off of the roses she was carrying, "Your father was just wondering when you'd be here."

"Hey come on." Summer laughed, "I'm not that late."

"I know dear." Blue Rose chuckled, setting the roses aside for a moment, "But your father is always impatient when it comes to your little sister."

Belle pouted before she hugged her mother with a grin. In that moment, however, she forgot she was carrying crickets with her magic and had basically shoved them into her mother's face in doing so, causing her mother to shriek in shock, "Oh Sweet Celestia!"

"Whoops...sorry Mom." Belle chuckled nervously.

"Oh...just...just go feed Fluffy already!" Blue Rose told her daughter in a shaky but stern voice.

This caused the young filly to nod quickly and run upstairs, "Fluffy! We bought crickets!"

Blue Rose let out a relieved sigh as she looked at her oldest daughter, "I always forget that thing gets hungry twice a month...so where was it this time?"

"Oh just the usual spot." Summer told her casually, "She went to the train station again."

"Oh honestly!" Rose sighed, "That filly is going to get herself in trouble one of these days."

"I think I found a way to keep her in line." Summer assured her mother gently.

"You didn't offer to teach her to fly right?" Her Father called from the kitchen.

Summer chuckled a bit and smiled, "No, no. I told her if she stays in school, the next time the group and I have an event to play at I'd take her with us."

"Oh, honey is that such a good idea?" Her Mother asked in concern.

"No worries, Mom," Summer assured her, "The most we're doing is a concert in Vanhoover in a few months, but that isn't a big event."

"Vanhoover is farther than you may think, Sweetie..." Her mother pointed out, clearly uneasy about the idea.

"No need to worry, Mom." Summer told her gently, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "I know what I'm doing. If anything it will probably show her how she isn't ready for the life of a performer just yet. The Traveling, all the scheduling, the packing, and early mornings, they all take their toll on me even _now_ some of the time. I know I sure wasn't ready for all of it when I was her age, I didn't even have my Cutie Mark yet when I started realizing I liked to sing and perform."

"Belle doesn't have her Cutie Mark yet either." Blue Rose reminded Summer, not looking any less uneasy, "And before that Talent Show you only ever sang in front of Me, your Dad, and your Grandparents...She's trying to go off and just play wherever she wanders off to in the day."

"Let's just see how this works out, Blue." Dusk Light agreed as he walked into the room, hugging his wife reassuringly, "Maybe we'll get lucky and it won't be for a year until they play another big event."

Summer laughed at this, but nodded slightly, "Yeah, I'm sure it'll be a while before we're invited to play a big event anyway. And this way it'll keep her in school and out of trouble, even if she does end up going to the Vanhoover Event."

At that moment a large black and white tarantula scurried by, causing Blue Rose to cry out in fear and jump onto her husbands back in a panic. Not long after Belle Rose came running down the stairs, chasing after it.

"Come back here, Fluffy!" She cried out, her magic holding the container of crickets as she ran, "You need to eat your crickets!"

Dusk gave Summer a slightly skeptical look, "Keep her out of trouble, huh?"

Summer shrugged and grinned, "I'm not the one who bought her a tarantula for her birthday."

Blue Rose muttered something under her breath about talking to Dusk's mother later, causing Summer and her Father to laugh together.

"It's not funny!" She grumbled, "That thing scares me."

"But she works so well with her." Summer teased.

"I wonder if she'll get her Cutie Mark in Spider Care." Dusk teased, "Maybe she'll get a whole mess of Spiders."

"Don't even joke like that!" She squeaked.

Summer laughed and smiled at her mother, heading towards the stairs, "I'm going to go see Grandma, I'll try not to take too long."

"Just don't give her any ideas about buying anymore Spiders for your sister!" Her Mother called after her daughter, causing Summer's Father to laugh even more.

Summer's Grandmother had moved in with Summer's parents and sister after her husband had passed away, feeling that she couldn't handle taking care of a big house with no pony living there to help her. Summer had offered to move in and sell her own place but her Grandmother told her she shouldn't have to do all of that just for her sake, then her parents offered up their extra bedroom and Daisy reluctantly agreed, after a few months of arguing with her son about it. Summer knocked on her Grandmother's door, trying her hardest not to startle the old mare while she did so.

"Grandma?" Summer asked through the door curiously.

"It's open!" Daisy called from inside.

Opening the door Summer was hit with the scent of tea and flowers, to a point where if she didn't know it was her Grandmother's bedroom and work area, she would be overwhelmed with concern. She fanned her wings bit to air out the room just a bit and smiled as she saw her Grandmother sitting at her table drying and grinding up different flower petals and tea leaves to make her teas. She appeared to be working on a Lavender green tea, as far as Summer could tell when she looked up from her work curiously.

"Summer! Glad you stopped by!" The old mare beamed.

"Why's that?" Summer asked curiously, walking over to give her Grandmother a hug.

"I need somepony to talk to while I work." She answered with a smile, "It'll help me concentrate."

"Sounds like it would only distract you." Summer pointed out, only to have three boxes of tea shoved in her face.

"Keep on talking," The old mare teased, "I'm on fire!"

Summer chuckled and set the boxes down as she continued talking about her day, "Well, I mostly wrote song lyrics all day, but I did read this Article in a magazine I thought was interesting. It was about that "Princess Dress" craze a while ago."

"Oh I remember that." Daisy chuckled, packing up more and more finished boxes as she talked, "Your mother got all excited, wanted to buy one for all us mares in the family."

Summer laughed a bit, "Oh wow! Glad she didn't! I'd never wear something that flashy, it's not my style."

"She couldn't get them." Her Grandmother corrected, "She went to the shop and they said it was discontinued. Your mother sulked for hours."

Summer and her Grandmother laughed at her Mother's overly dramatic tendencies, knowing full well that she could make a mountain out of an ant hill.

"Anyway, it said that some ponies have been wearing their old Princess Dresses in honor of joining a "Princess Twilight Sparkle Fan Club" Or something like that." Summer continued, chuckling to herself at the idea.

"Hey now, you started a fanclub? Had no idea!" Her Grandmother teased, laughing a bit at the end with a kind smile.

Summer blushed brightly in embarrassment at her Grandmother's comment. Summer had been to Princess Twilight's coronation, and she greatly respected her as well as her friends for not only her finishing an Ancient Spell nopony else could finish to earn her wings, but the countless times she and her friends were able to save Equestria from falling into darkness, or even being destroyed outright. She even admired her ability to show ponies who had lost their way back into the light and out of the shadows of cruelty and darkness, using the Magic of Friendship as well as her knowledge on magic. Summer had heard rumors that she even hatched her Dragon friend from an egg with little to no effort as a foal, but Summer wasn't sure that ponies had the full story about that day. She felt so strongly that Princess Twilight was a powerful and noble Princess, and there were times she couldn't help but admire her beauty as well, and her Grandmother loved to tease her about it ever since she had found out.

"N-Not funny, Grandma!" Summer squeaked with a blush on her cheeks.

"Aw come on now, honey!" Her Grandmother told her with a smile, "I'm only joking around. I'm sure that under the right circumstances you and the Princess could maybe make a cute couple."

"Oh come on, Grandma," Summer laughed with a slightly brighter blush to her cheeks, packing up some more boxes for shipment, "even if we did meet there's no way she'd ever see me that way. The most I'd say is she'd probably think of me as a friend, and even that I think is stretching possibility a bit."

"Never say never, Sweet Pea." Daisy told her gently, but otherwise didn't bring it up again.

Summer smiled as she packed and organized the boxes for her Grandmother, who in turn enjoyed the company of her Granddaughter greatly. After the loss of her husband Daisy found it comforting to have such a wonderful reminder of the love she and Wind Breaker had shared. After a while Summer hugged her Grandmother goodnight and left to see about her sister before she headed home for the night. She found her in her bedroom with their mother, who was helping the young Unicorn hold open the tarantula cage so she could feed the large hairy spider.

"Oh please hurry!" Blue Rose groaned, trying to look anywhere but at the large tarantula, as her youngest daughter placed the cricket in the cage in front of it.

"Oh Mom, she's not going to bite us!" Belle laughed, gently petting the spider on the head when she was done, earning a happy chirping sound from Fluffy before she began chasing down the cricket, catching it with ease in her fangs.

"Oh that just freaks me out!" Blue shrieked, backing away from them quickly.

Belle caught the top of the cage quickly with her own magic before rolling her eyes at her mother's reaction, "Aw don't worry Fluffy, I like your squeaky sounds."

"You know if you wanted help you could have asked me." Summer laughed.

"Oh you should have! I'm too creeped out by that thing!" Blue scolded her younger daughter, though the little filly simply gave an innocent smile.

"Next time." Summer chuckled.

Blue Rose rolled her eyes and walked out of the room with a sigh, leaving the sisters alone.

"You heading home?" Belle asked curiously as she closed the cage and set it on her dresser so that Fluffy could finish eating.

"Yeah, but I'll see you tomorrow won't I?" Summer answered.

"Sure! But could you pick me up from school instead?" Belle asked.

"I guess so." Summer told her, tilting her head curiously, "Why?"

"I just thought it'd be more fun to walk over with you instead of alone." Belle answered innocently.

Summer thought it was a bit suspicious but shrugged it off and decided not to think too deeply into it. She ruffled her sister's mane a bit and smiled, heading downstairs before making her way home. She'd have to remember to pick up her sister the next day, but she didn't think it would mess with her songwriting much if at all, so it probably wouldn't be that hard to remember. When she got back home she began cleaning up, collecting the dishes she had cooked with as well what they'd eaten with and washing them quietly. She put everything that was left over in her refrigerator and labeled what she planned on giving to Sound Stage, since he was often too busy with designing costumes to really make himself a decent meal. She sighed a bit before heading to her bedroom and settling down in bed, grabbing the pile of mail she had received earlier that day. She flipped through most of it as junk mail, a few fliers for restaurants and some ads for shops nearby, as well as her bills for her home she needed to look over at a slightly later time. She was about to turn in when her eyes fell upon a specific scroll she found in the pile, it wasn't like the other scrolls or envelopes she looked at, it had a red ribbon wrapped around it, the royal seal shining a bit in the dim light of the table lamp.

Summer was completely shocked and at first believed this to be a mistake, that she had gotten her mail mixed up with somepony else's but sure enough the scroll had her name on it. She felt both honored as well as worried, unsure of why the Princesses would want to contact her. Sure there was a remote chance that they were fans of her and her group and wanted something like an autograph but that seemed a bit too far fetched for Summer to believe. Still, she took in a slight breath to calm her nerves and opened the scroll gently, her eyes widening a bit upon what she read.

_**Dear Miss Springs**__**,**_

_**Your Grandfather, Lieutenant Wind Breaker, always spoke so proudly about you and your friends before his untimely passing, and after discussing it with my sister, I would like to personally request that you and your friends preform at this years Grand Galloping Gala, out of respect for the dear friend your Grandfather was to all of us at Canterlot castle, including my sister and I. Sound equipment will be provided for you as well as lodging for the night before and of the Gala in the west corridors of Canterlot Castle, so you will be able t**__**o **__**rehearse**** as needed in the Canterlot Castle Ballroom. **_

_**I would also like to speak to you and your friends at Canterlot Castle on the 12th, so that we can discuss your groups' decision about performing at the Gala. Please write to Princess Twilight in reply to this request, as I am putting her in charge of planning for this years Gala.**_

_**I look forward to meeting you and your friends. Yours **__**sincerely, Princess Celestia.**_

Summer nearly couldn't believe what she had read, but it was even signed at the bottom by Princess Celestia herself! She could hardly believe it. She had known her grandfather was a royal guard, of course, but she had never imagined that he had been one of Princess Celestia's most trusted Gurads. Not only that but trusted enough to where he could talk so freely to the Princess like an old friend about his family, or that was what the letter made it seem like. And now she wanted his granddaughter and her friends to perform at one of the biggest events of the year, all because she trusted his judgement? Sure she and her group had been invited to preform at a lot of different events and parties all over Equestria, but never before had they been asked to preform for something as well anticipated as The Grand Galloping Gala. She reread the letter a few times and after a moment began to panic even more, not only was this the biggest event of the year in the eyes of countless ponies all over Equestria, but she would have to allow her sister to go with them to the Gala.

She didn't think her sister would cause too much trouble at such a big event, and there was a chance that she would want to wait for a different event considering they wouldn't have to leave the city to go to this one. Still, she figured even if she did bring her sister along she and her friends would be able to handle such a big chance. She reread the letter one more time before she started calling her friends to see if they would be able to come over the following morning to talk about this opportunity. Sound Stage agreed quickly, wanting to pick up leftovers above everything else to Summer's amusement. Ari agreed eagerly, wanting nothing more than for all four of them to succeed in their careers. Floral sounded less enthusiastic about having to get up early just to talk about work, causing Summer to have to offer to make breakfast to get her to agree. Not that Summer really minded, she knew that Floral Grace usually listened to her stomach above anything else anyway. After arranging for them all to meet up the next morning Summer yawned and fell back against her pillows tiredly. Surely everything would work out in the end, this was an amazing opportunity after all, and it would benefit not only her but all of her friends as well. She yawned and smiled at the thought as she drifted off to a well deserved sleep, completely missing the fact that Twilight Sparkle was whom she needed to respond to in her tired state of mind.

* * *

**I know that technically Summer and Twilight didn't meet in this chapter like they did in the first chapter of the first version of this story but I figured if I was going to update the story, I needed to change up the beginning of it and in this case that ended up being how the two of them met in the first place. I tried to write this first chapter to sort of introduce my characters and explore their personalities and flaws. Hopefully you all like the new characters I created to update the story, and hopefully I can bring you a version of this story you can all enjoy.**


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